Minneola Develops Governmental Gaps

December 11, 1998|By Rich McKay of The Sentinel Staff

MINNEOLA - The mayor is gone, and the deputy to the mayor is leaving soon - both without a clear explanation.

The resignations of Mayor James Spalding and Deputy to the Mayor Mary Ludwig will leave Minneola's small city government without its two key players as it struggles with booming development and an ever-growing volume of day-to-day business.

A special election is in the works for a new mayor, and applicants for the deputy to the mayor's job will be solicited in an advertisement next week.

A new wastewater treatment plant is mired in a heated fight between developers who need the facility to build and residents who don't want a sewer plant in their back yards. Meanwhile, the city is discussing a $3 million bond to consolidate its outstanding debts and borrow more money to pay for two new wells. And, finally, developers are at Minneola's borders, asking for annexations and city services.

In the face of all that, Spalding abruptly turned in his letter of resignation Thursday, giving up his post officially today.

The letter said he no longer lives inside the city limits and therefore is no longer qualified to be the mayor. No one in City Hall, including his close associate Ludwig, would say where the mayor is. Ludwig plans to resign, citing ``personal reasons.'' She submitted her resignation Nov. 30, but did not go public with her plans until asked by a reporter Thursday.

She declined to elaborate on her reason for leaving. Ludwig did say she plans to stay on until the end of January, and then use vacation time to be on the city payroll until the end of February.

Spalding was elected mayor in 1997 and had served on the City Council since 1992.

Ludwig said she didn't ``know what's gone through his mind,'' when asked about Spalding's resignation.

But Spalding's term was rocked in the past few months.

First, there was criticism over the city's inability to get a new well running while residents were clamoring for water.

Then, Spalding and Ludwig were criticized by residents and some council members over a proposed site for a wastewater treatment facility near Grassy Lake. When the proposal was presented for a council vote in October, it came as a surprise to several council members who didn't know the city had picked a site and spent more than $2,000 on engineering studies.

Some were bothered that only one site was presented for the vote, complete with an elaborate report that included a map hand-colored by Ludwig and her secretary.

Some residents of Debbie Lane were angry that they had to find out about the site on their own. The city has since started looking at four other locations for a wastewater treatment plant.

Councilman Bill Balanoff said Thursday he wished Spalding had told the council about his resignation plans.

``I am shocked that this whole thing is happening. If the man knows he was going to resign, why not say something to the council Tuesday?'' he asked.

A special meeting is scheduled for Monday where the remaining council members are expected to accept Spalding's resignation and make plans for the election of a new mayor. The city's charter requires that such an election take place in 60 to 75 days, which would put it sometime between Feb. 9 and 24.

In the meantime, Vice Mayor Gene Strickland, who was re-elected in November by a five-vote margin, will serve as acting mayor.

Strickland could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Spalding, who is Minneola's postmaster, is on leave from that job until January. It wasn't clear if he was going to return as postmaster or take another job with the U.S. Postal Service in another city.